Hell You Talmbout

{{columns-list|colwidth=10em|

• Walter Scott
• Jerame Reid
• Phillip White
• Eric Garner
• Trayvon Martin
• Sean Bell
• Freddie Gray
• Aiyana Jones
• Sandra Bland
• Kimani Gray
• John Crawford
• Michael Brown
• Miriam Carey
• Sharonda Singleton
• Emmett Till
• Tommy Junior Yancy
• Jordan Baker
• Amadou Diallo

}}

The song received favourable reviews, and many spoke positively about the message of the song. Fast Company described it as "simple yet unquestionably powerful", stating that it will force listeners to remember those who have been murdered.{{cite web|first=KC|last=Ifeanyi|url=http://www.fastcompany.com/3050098/the-recommender/janelle-monaes-protest-song-is-a-heart-rending-roll-call-of-injustices|title=Janelle Monáe's Protest Song Is A Heart-Rending Roll Call Of Injustices|work=Fast Company|date=20 August 2015|access-date=31 August 2015}} Stereogum called it "less a song and more of a chant, with some gospel overtones", and emphasized that it is both "simple" and "effective".{{cite web|first=Tom|last=Breihan|url=http://www.stereogum.com/1823862/janelle-monae-jidenna-st-beauty-deep-cotton-roman-gianarthur-hell-you-talmbout/mp3s/|title=Janelle Monáe, Jidenna, St. Beauty, Deep Cotton & Roman GianArthur – "Hell You Talmbout"|work=Stereogum|date=13 August 2015|access-date=31 August 2015}} USA Today declared it the "song of the week", praising the song's "simple but stark approach" of only listing names rather than describing circumstances, and attributing this to a desire to avoid "arguments that can quickly turn divisive and bitter",{{cite web|first=Brian|last=Mansfield|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2015/08/20/listen-up-song-week-janelle-monae/31992103/|title=Song of the week: Monáe's 'Hell You Talmbout'|work=USA Today|date=20 August 2015|access-date=31 August 2015}} while National Public Radio called it "visceral" and "blistering".{{cite web|first=Katie|last=Presley|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2015/08/18/385202798/janelle-mon-e-releases-visceral-protest-song-hell-you-talmbout|title=Janelle Monáe Releases Visceral Protest Song, 'Hell You Talmbout'|work=NPR|date=18 August 2015|access-date=31 August 2015}}

Malcolm Gladwell's audiobook Talking to Strangers, a reflection on the psychology surrounding the arrest and death of Sandra Bland, uses "Hell You Talmbout" as a theme song: "I was almost finished with my book when I first heard [Hell You Talmbout], and I thought, 'I cannot publish Talking to Strangers without it.'"{{Cite book|last=Gladwell|first=Malcolm|title=Talking to Strangers|publisher=Little, Brown and Co.|year=2019|isbn=9780316478526|location=New York|pages=3}}

• Transgender rights advocate Vita Elizabeth Cleveland recorded an answer song, "Hell Y'all Ain't Talmbout", which focuses on the names of murdered African-American trans women.{{cite web|first=Sunnivie|last=Brydum|url=http://www.advocate.com/transgender/2015/08/25/watch-janet-mocks-powerful-response-murders-trans-women|title=WATCH: In Wake of Trans Murders, Janet Mock Teaches Us Why We Must #SayHerName|work=The Advocate|date=25 August 2015|access-date=31 August 2015}}
• David Byrne and his band performed "Hell You Talmbout" as the final encore each night on his American Utopia Tour.{{cite news |last=Sodomsky |first=Sam |date=2018-03-13 |title=David Byrne Shares New Video, Covers Janelle Monáe: Watch |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/david-byrne-shares-new-video-covers-janelle-monae-watch/ |work=Pitchfork |location=Chicago |access-date=2018-10-08 }}{{cite magazine |last1=Exposito |first1=Suzy |last2=Phull |first2=Hardeep |last3=Appleford |first3=Syeve |date=2018-04-16 |title=Coachella 2018: The 18 Best Things We Saw at Weekend One |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/coachella-2018-the-18-best-things-we-saw-at-weekend-one-628405/david-byrne-8-628456/ |magazine= Rolling Stone|location=NYC |access-date=2018-10-08 }} Byrne said, "This is one of the most moving political songs that I'd ever heard" and chose it because it "...ends the show on the vibe of, 'This is where we are at in 2018.'"{{cite news |last=Schlanger|first=Talia|date=2018-08-29 |title=David Byrne Digs For Wonder |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/world-cafe/2018/08/29/642584740/david-byrne-digs-for-wonder |work=NPR World Cafe |location=Philadelphia|access-date=2018-10-08 }} A version of it appears on the American Utopia on Broadway album, as well as the Spike Lee-directed film of the concert, during which, several family members of the deceased mentioned hold up photographs of them. During the applause, additional tributes are shown to those who have lost their lives since the song came out, prominently Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd, as well as additional tributes to those not mentioned in the song "and too many more". Floyd and Taylor's names were added when the show returned to Broadway in 2021.
• In late September 2021, Monáe released a 17-minute version of the song entitled "Say Her Name (Hell You Talmbout)". The updated version featured the names of 61 Black women and girls who were murdered at the hands of police brutality. Among the vocalists that contributed to the new version the song are Beyoncé Knowles, Alicia Keys, Tierra Whack, Zoë Kravitz, Brittany Howard and Chloe x Halle.{{cite web |last1=Cho |first1=Regina |title=Janelle Monáe shares powerful new track "Say Her Name (Hell You Talmbout)" |url=https://www.revolt.tv/new-music/2021/9/28/22699043/janelle-monae-say-her-name-hell-you-talmbout |website=Revolt Magazine |access-date=5 October 2021}}

{{reflist|2}}

• [https://soundcloud.com/wondalandarts/hell-you-talmbout Hell You Talmbout], on SoundCloud

{{Janelle Monáe}}

{{Black Lives Matter}}

{{authority control}}

Category:2015 songs

Category:Janelle Monáe songs

Category:Protest songs

Category:Songs written by Janelle Monáe

Category:Gospel songs

Category:Songs about racism and xenophobia